Bountiful Blessings Farm Produce

Today was a lot of fun, but very cold! I went the Hinckley Lion's Club sale in Hinckley, Illinois. It was great seeing a lot of people I have not seen in over a year. I was trying to find items we need at the farm for the upcoming season. There wasn't really any machinery there that would work for our operation, but I was able to get some lumber to complete at least one of the hay racks we will need. As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, Sunday's for us are usually spent in church and then family time in the afternoon. However, there are some time constraints this week with seed order deadlines and other issues that may prevent me from being able to attend worship.

I am hoping to be done with the things I need to do early in the morning so I can go to church.  However, it seems like lately things have not really gone the way I have planned. This results in crunch time and I do not like doing things at the last minute. The computer crash this week really took its toll. Now I am playing catch-up! I may have to use Sunday to catch-up. Bummer. I hate missing church. Well anyway, I hope that we will have time for some great food. I love this comfort food kind of soup on a cold day! This is what I was thinking about making:

Golden Cheesy Potato Soup

Ingredients

3 cups chopped potatoes
1 cup water
½ cup celery sliced
½ cup carrot sliced
¼ cup onions chopped
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups milk
2 tablespoons flour
½ pound velveeta cubed
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 cup ham diced

Instructions
In a large sauce pan, combine everything EXCEPT the milk, flour, & Velveeta. Mix well, cover, simmer 15-20 minutes or until veggies are tender. Gradually add milk to flour & mix until well blended. Add milk mixture to vegetables. Cook till thickened. Add Velveeta & stir until melted. Serves 7

Well yesterday was a long and busy day. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I picked up a load of cement blocks and wood from a friend's place. That took most of the morning. I hauled the load home and my buddy, Rick convinced me to bring another running gear over to his shop to repair. What a job!!! After getting it into the shop, we had to cut the old top off of it and then jack it up. Once we had it on the jack stands we were able to pull the wheels. Two of the four tires were junk. I had some other tires at the farm to replace them. Using the tire machine, we slow repaired the tires. It was now time to pull the hubs and look at the bearings. Needless to say, they needed a little work! I ended up ordering two grease seals from NAPA and four axle hub covers from John Deere. I was amazed that the parts are still available for this old running gear. It was built sometime between 1955 and 1961. I was also surprised at how heavily they built things back in the day. The axles are one inch in diameter. I am guessing this is about a 6 ton gear. we plan to use it for a semi-permanent stand in town this year. When my dad gets back, he will be building the rack and the top of the wagon. He always does such a nice job. I'm sure it will look great.

Today, I am off to get the parts I ordered and then back to the shop to finish the project. My computer should be back this afternoon, so I will be able to finish the seed orders and get them in tomorrow. The time is flying by and I have a lot to get finished. By the twentieth, I want to be seeding my early tomatoes for the high tunnel. 

Tonight, I teach a Bible class at the church so it will be a quick snack before we go. When we get home supper will be ready. I'm sure you all think that the only thing I am interested in is eating... Well not really but I love good food.

This is what we are thinking about cooking for tonight in the crock pot.

Chicken Tagine
Tagine is a traditional Moroccan dish of vegetables, meat, and often fruit. It is actually named after the conical clay pot it is traditionally cooked in a "tagine pot". It is a nice fairly light dish with a unique flavor. Moroccan cooking evolved as a sort of fusion of African, Asian, and European flavors.

Ingredients
2-3 pounds skinned chicken
1 tbsp olive oil
2 sliced large onions
4-6 chopped garlic cloves
2 sliced carrots
2 sliced celery ribs
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine
2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
salt to taste
1 tsp paprika
1 cup cooked or canned chickpeas
2 sliced small zucchini
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
black pepper & cayenne to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
chopped fresh cilantro to taste
Couscous

Preparation:

1. Saute garlic and onions in olive oil in a stockpot, stirring until onions are tender, about 5-10 minutes. Add carrots, celery, and saute another couple of minutes.

2. Add chicken, cumin, ginger, turmeric, bay leaf, white wine, chicken stock and salt; stir together and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender.

3. Take chicken out and cut into cubes/chunks if necessary. Add paprika, chickpeas, saron, zucchini and lemon juice; simmer another 15 minutes, until zucchini is tender but still bright green.

4. Taste and add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Stir in cilantro and parsley, just before serving with couscous.

As mentioned above, we will put this in the crock pot, but it is much better if prepared as shown above.

This morning I am heading out to pick up a load of wood and some cement blocks. A friend of mine is cleaning up some of his property and has to get rid of some things. I should be able to use the wood around the farm for upcoming projects. The cement blocks will be used for the cold frame and the hotbed. My wife and I discussed our plans for this evening and what we are going to fix for supper. Several ideas came up. Anyhow, here is what we decided to have for supper tonight. Now I have something to look forward to the rest of the day! These are a couple of great recipes. Give them a try, I think you will enjoy them!

Hamburger Casserole

1 lb. hamburger
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 t. parsley flakes
1 small onion (chopped)
1 soup can evaporated milk
1 t. salt
½ t. pepper
Frozen tater tots

Brown hamburger & onion in skillet. Add salt & pepper. Remove from burner & drain. In separate bowl, combine soup, milk & parsley. Mix with wire whisk until smooth. Place hamburger mixture in a greased 2 quart baking dish. Pour soup mixture over hamburger. Top with tatter tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

2 c. potatoes, cooked, fingerling variety
1 garlic clove minced
½ c. fat free chicken broth
1½ t. rosemary
¼ t. black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine potatoes, garlic & ¼ c. chicken broth in metal pie pan. Sprinkle with rosemary. Roast for 15 minutes until the broth evaporates. Add remaining broth. Flip potatoes & roast for 15 minutes more. Remove from oven & sprinkle with pepper.

This morning my wife andI were thinking fo something to eat after church. The first thing Kim mentioned was that we have not enjoyed German Chocolate cake in a long time. So, guess what we are making? Yep, our favorite German Chocolate cake. I thought I would share our recipe on the blog. Hope you enjoy it!

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1 package bakers sweet chocolate

½ cup of boiling water

1 cup of butter or margarine for cake and ½ cup for frosting

3 cups of sugar

4 egg yokes for cake and 3 for frosting

1 teaspoon vanilla for cake and 1 teaspoon for frosting

2 ½ cups of sifted flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of butter milk

4 eggs white beaten

1 1/3 baker’s angel coconut flakes

1 cup of chopped pecans

1 cup of evaporated milk

Preparation:

Melt chocolate is boiling water. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg yokes 1 at a time beating well after each. Blend in vanilla and cooked chocolate. Shift flour with soda and salt. Add this to chocolate mixture with buttermilk beating well after each addition until smooth. Add beaten egg whites (fold into batter). Pour into (3) 9 inch pans lined with wax paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes then cool.

Frosting: Add the evaporated milk, sugar beaten egg yokes, butter and vanilla to sauce pan and cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Watch it, stir continually, if you don’t it will get lumpy. Add 1 1/3 baker’s angel coconut flakes and 2 cup of chopped pecans. Cool till thick enough to spread. Spread on top of cake. Yummy!